SACRAMENTO — Less than an hour before the Nuggets’ regular season opener and it’s already feeling as energized as it was billed to be. Sacramento rolled out the ‘purple carpet’ for Shaquille O’Neal, part of the ownership group. Purple shirts adorn the seats of Sleep Train arena. On the backs of the t-shirts is the phrase 1985-Forever.

The Kings survived a huge challenge from an ownership group that would have moved the team to Seattle, and the fans – and city, at-large – has staged, what Nuggets coach Brian Shaw called “Super Bowl” celebration today in immense appreciation that their team is still in town.

In the midst of all of this, Shaw’s Nuggets have to find a way to match the Kings inevitable high energy, and thrive to have a chance to win his head coaching debut.

Soaring so high that he should have served peanuts, Carmelo Anthony cocked back his right arm, like he was about to throw a knockout punch. In a way, he did.
In Wednesday night’s fourth quarter at the Pepsi Center, Melo unleashed a vicious tomahawk dunk over Utah’s Paul Millsap, a heart-pumping slam that caused the Denver star to beat his own heart with his fist.

The Nuggets won their season opener 114-105. That dunk (with the ensuing free throw due to Millsap’s foul) gave the Nuggets a 99-88 lead, deflating the once-peppy Jazz.

Such was Saturday for the Jazz, which had a seemingly easy victory swiped by the naughty Nuggets. Playing without Carmelo Anthony (knee) and Chauncey Billups (groin), Denver defeated division rival Utah 105-95, and did so at Energy Solutions Arena, where the Nuggets had lost seven of their past eight, including four straight.

Holy moly, this was a big win. The Nuggets (21-12) had lost six straight on the road, the most since coach George Karl took over in January 2005.

That Carter was on the court with Johan Petro, Malik Allen, J.R. Smith and Joey Graham in the fourth quarter?

Or that Carter’s dunk cut the Utah Jazz’s lead, once 18 points in the third quarter, to three?

Beleaguered and banged up, the Nuggets indeed hung around. But the Jazz pulled away for a 116-106 victory, its lone win against the Nuggets this season.

“After the way we started in the first quarter, a lot of teams could have thrown it in and collapsed,” said Nuggets coach George Karl, whose team beat the Lakers 126-113 in Los Angeles the night before. “We kept fighting and fighting.”

Rarely have 12 victories in a little over a month seemed so – blah.
But when Nuggets coach George Karl stormed out of the press conference on Sunday after his team’s loss to Minnesota, it had that kind of feel. The Nuggets, who started the season in late October like a lion, whimpered out of November like a lamb, wondering where their defensive mojo had gone.
The red flag of lack of defensive focus and intensity was waving long before Minnesota took advantage of it and won.
“My biggest worry is we’ve gone to trying to outscore people and not defend people,” Karl said. “It’s a very dangerous personality if we continue with it.”
Well, they have. In their last three games, the Nuggets have allowed 114 points per game on 48 percent shooting. They are turning the ball over at a higher rate than opponents 14.7-12.3 and have been outrebounded 43.7-42.6.
Now the Nuggets have to do something about it.

A look back…

Nov. 24: Nuggets 101, Nets 87
It was by far the Nuggets best defensive game of a week that lost steam on that end as it progressed. The Nuggets held the low-effort Nets to 38.9 percent shooting. New Jersey’s starting lineup scored just 42 points, 19 of those coming from Rafer Alston. Meanwhile, the Nuggets got 27 more points from Carmelo Anthony and a near double-double of 17 points and nine rebounds from Nene.

Nov. 25: Nuggets 124, at Timberwolves 111
Denver sprinted out of the gates to a 23-10 lead, and didn’t really look back from there in a pre-Thanksgiving laugher – obviously not a harbinger of things to come. Seven Nuggets scored in double figures, a number that would have been eight if Ty Lawson (eight points) made on more shot from field. Minnesota forward Ryan Gomes scored five points. Keep that in mind…

Nov. 27: Nuggets 128, Knicks 125
Carmelo Anthony scored a career-high 50 points in a spectacular performance, but it was almost not enough. The Nuggets defensive effort went slip-sliding away against Knicks and it nearly cost Denver a victory. The Nuggets could not handle Al Harrington, who lit them up for 41 points and 10 rebounds. Chauncey Billups made a couple of key late plays that helped deliver the Nuggets’ 12th victory of the year, even though the margin was slim.

Nov. 29: Timberwolves 106, Nuggets 100
Did you keep Gomes in mind? Good. Here’s why. The role player, who managed just five points four days earlier in a loss to the Nuggets, exploded for 27 at the Pepsi Center and the Timberwolves, who had lost 15 straight games after winning their season opener, stunned the Nuggets. Defensively, the Nuggets allowed Minnesota to shoot 51 percent from the field. T-wolves starters accounted for 90 of the 106 points, 33 of the 46 rebounds and 18 of the 24 assists.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: CARMELO ANTHONY
Even for the season he’s had, Carmelo Anthony was good. The NBA’s leading scorer averaged 32.7 points on 54 percent shooting in four games last week. His 50 points against the Knicks was a career-high and a necessity in a game that hung in the balance until the final seconds.

MOVE OF THE WEEK: BILLUPS GETTING AGGRESSIVE
The Nuggets point guard chose to not shoot as much in some of early games so some of his teammates could make shots and gain confidence, but he turned up the juice when the team needed him most. His 32 points against the Knicks was a season-high. Billups was 10-of-20 from 3-point range in the last three games of the week.

The Denver Nuggets won their 2009 season opener Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center, defeating the Utah Jazz 114-105 despite a slow start in the first half. Carmelo Anthony finished with a game-high 30 points, went 11-of-22 shooting, and got eight rebounds and five assists.

Much to the bemusement of more than one ESPN anchorman, an NBA analyst for the network made a bold prediction on air on the eve of the Denver Nuggets’ season opener.

“If Kenyon Martin is healthy,” said Stephen A. Smith, who joined ESPN as an NBA analyst in October 2003, “the Denver Nuggets will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. … I believe they can get it done.”Read more…

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.